THIS TIMES NEW BLOOM FIELD, 1A., JAN U Alt Y 0,1871. Slythorpe's Little Qamb. . , IN u darkened chamber, dark with the awful shadow still more than with the lack of material light, four persons frath cred round ft bd, on hleh la & timn hearing on his 'Ihee the unmlHtnkhble lgns of the summons which none cart refuse to answeri A weeping girl knelt by the bedside, her faco bent over the nerveless hand which lay upon the cov erM, and which she held an though by that convulsive clnnp die could hold her father still to life. The doctor and nume stood quietly nulde, ns having done their part and waiting for the Inevitable end. A shaded lamp eaot a ring of bright, white light amid Its surrounding gloom, and within Its gleaming clrcle.at n table covered with papers and writing mate, rials, sat the dying man's solicitor en gaged in the preparation of hi will. The instructions were short and simple, liernard Hope had but one near relative, his daughter Mary, now kneeling by bin ldHl(lu,aud to her, as was natural, he desired to leave his few possessions. After an Interval of silence, broken m1y by the suppressed sobs of the weep, "ing girl and the monotonous scratching -of the attorney's pen upon the paper, he paused, and Inquired, In a harsh, un pleasant voice. ''What mimes shall 1 Insert as trustees? You should have two at least." , The dying man paused ere he replied with an efl'ort. " Godfrey Howard, Major 111th, now in India. I have no other friend." " In that case may I venture to offer my humble services, subject to tlieusiml ' proviso. I should be delighted to be use ful" to Miss Hope, and if your friend Is jibrond there may be tllfllculties." "True, Slythorpe, I thank you. Miike yourself trustee, then, Mitli Major How ard. Legacy two hundred pounds for your trouble." " Nay, my dear sir, qulteunnecessary. I really-" Hut again tlir ready pen traveled over the paper, and n quarter of an hour later Mr. Slythorpe announced that the doc 5, . iiment was read for execution, and in a " low, mechanical monotone read over Kb provisions. The sick man seemed moro than once to lose consciousness during the reading, but at the close he appear ed to nerve himself for a supreme oftbrt. " Yes that will do. Give me the pen," he said, and with a shaking hand affixed his signature, and with eager eyes watch ed the doctor and nurse as they added their own as witnesses, after which he sank back exhausted on his pillow. ' Thank God, that's safe!" he gasped. l Mary, my child, you and Geoffrey you and Geoffrey ! "What was I saying f God bless you, my darling 1 God bless " These were the last words Bernard . Hope ever spoke. ' A year had passed away since liernard Hope's death, and Mary still remained an inmate of the lipusc' of Mrs. Murga iroyd, the good womhrt whom we have seen in attendance at her father's last illness, and who, to her occasional occu pation as nurse, added the more perma nent one of letting lodgings. Mary's . sweet face and gentle manner had quite won the heart of her good-natured land lady, who was unceasing In her endeav ors to soothe her grief and minister to her comforts. Mary still showed in her face and figure the tokens of the fiery trial through which she had passed. Her slight form looked slighter still iu her soft black drapery, and the shadow of an unforgotten sorrow still rested on her delicate features. Mary Hope had lieen her father's constant companion, and she sorely missed the happy hours in which his powerful intellect and va ried experience had been unfolded for her benefit, lint she had, too, another trouble none the less hard to bear that it was one in which she could have few confidants. Major Howard, of whom mention has already been made, was not only her father's most valued friend, but had Insensibly grown very dear to her clf ; and when six months before Ber nard Hope's death, he was summoned with his regiment to India, he left Mary his promised bride. Twice he had writ ten within the first few weeks of his departure, since which time there bad been a terrible silence; and in the same week which had left Mary fatherless, a second blow fell upon her. The 111th had been engaged In a smart skirmish, the number of dead and wounded being , considerable. Major Geoffrey Howard was reported among the fallen ; and Mary had to mourn at once her lover and her father. The death of Major Howard left Mr. Slythorpe sole trustee of Mr. Hope's will. This to Mary was a matter of the most perfect indifference. Suspecting evil of no one, she was willing that her little fortune, amounting to some five or six thousand pounds, should rest in Mr. Slythorpe's hands as iu those of any other person. But of late the attorney had lieguu to persecute her with atten tions, which, under existing circumstan ces, would have been distasteful from any one, but were doubly so front ft per son whom she could hot help regarding with an' instinctive dislike. Arid In truth Mr. HlytluWpo was not preolsoly the person to win a. falf lady's fancy. Undersized, hlg)t-shnuldered,wlth blink. lng,' lashless eyes; and a general angular ity, iot to say knobblness, of feature, he might have been expected to rlso supe rior to any Weakness as to personal ap pearance; but such was by no means the ease. In Mr. Samuel Slythorpe's own opinion, Mr. Samuel Slythorpe was a gentleman of considerable personal advantages, and It was his constant en deavor to makefile, very best, of them. He was obtrusively,'' we might almost say offensively clean. Ills shirt-front, collar, and wrist bands were all of the most liberal dimensions, and of Intense whiteness and starchlncss, giving him the appearance, of being, so to speak, " nil shirt ;" while his hands.whlch were naturally coarse and red were made still coarser and redder by perpetual wash ing. Ho was always profusely scented, and his short, scrubby hair was tortured by the combined use of the brush and (lie pomatum pot, into the semblance of the split almonds wherewith tipsy-cakes are wont to be decorated. His hats and coats were always Intensely now, nnd ho perpetually creaked as he moved his patent-leather boots, maintaining a friendly rivalry in tills particular with his well-starched shirt-front. In his habitual gorgeous array Indeed, If pos sible, looking even cleaner and newer than usual Mr. Slythorpe this morning knocked at Mrs. Murgatroyd's door. That good lady was at that moment en gaged in dusting Miss Hope's room, and catching sight of his approach, ex claimed. ' " There's that nasty worriting lawyer ngain, I do declare. Slythorpe, Indeed! I'd Slythorpe him!" It would be useless to endeavor to ex press on paper the intensity of meaning Mrs. Murgatroyd threw Into her newly coined verb ; but it waB evident that "Slythorplng" in her mind Included all the tortures of the Middle Ages, with a supplement of horscpond and other modern Inventions. Mary smiled at the good lady's vehemence. " My dear Mrs. Murgatroyd.you really shouldn't be so severe. Mr. Slythorpe is a little peculiar, but 1 have no doubt he means kindly, and you' know he is the trustee of poor papa's will." " I know he is, my dear, and I wish he wasn't. I know he shouldn't be trustee to a tomcat of mine, drat him !" " Now really, Mrs. Murgatroyd, you are too bad," said Mary, smiling in spite of herself. " I ant sure poor Mr. Sly thorpe Isn't nearly so dreadful as you make out." At this point the conversation was In terrupted by the entrance of the gentle man in question, and Mrs. Murgatroyd, passing him with a final sniff of abhor rence, quitted the apartment. Mr. Slythorpe, for once in his life, ap peared ill at ease. He was got up with his accustomed care, and the suggestion of scented soap which accompanied him was even stronger than usual; but his usual self satisfied air was wanting. He evidently had something on his mind some piece of rascality, u physiogno mist would have conjectured, which he either had recently perpetrated or was about to perpetrate. Let us hope that the physiognomist would have been wrong. ' My dear Miss Hope," he began, after the first greetings had been exchanged. " I grieve to be the bearer of very un pleasant Intelligence." Mary looked up with quiet Indiffer ence, scarcely believing that, after all she had gone through, any news,good or, bad, could have for her more than the most passing interest. Slythorpe con tinued: " I am sure that you will believe I did it for the best; but misfortunes will hap pen, you know, eveu with the utmost care and caution. I am sure I thought the investment as safe as the bank ; but there's no trustinganythlng nowadays."- " What is the misfortune, Mr. Sly thorpe, for you haven't yet told me? Nothing very serious, I hope." " Only too serious, my dear Ma "he tried to say " Mary," but couldn't get it out, and substituted "Miss Hope" " nothing less than the loss, I fear.of the whole of your little fortune." Mary turned very pale, but gave no other sign jof emotion. " How did It happen ?" she sald.'wlth an effort. " Your money was, us you know, In the Three Per Cents, where it produced a miserable jEKiO a year. In the hope of doing better for you, I sold out, and in vested It in a new mining company, the Wheal Marina, which promised to pay a minimum dividend of ten percent,and so would have just trebled your income. And this morning I am grieved to find from The Time that the company Is an utter smash. The directors have bolted, and the stockholders will lose every pen ny of their money." - ; " Is all gone ? Nothing left V" " Not a sixpence, and you remain Ha- ', ble for calls to the amount of about as much more." ' " ' . ' Poor Mary's fortitude quite gave way. " O dear, what shall I do t I haven't a friend In the world." " No, no, don't say that, Miss Mary," said Slythorpe, In a gentle patronizing manner; " H If n't as bad as that comes to. I haven't disguised my own feelings toward you ; and though you've lost your money, you know, that needn't make any dlflerenco belween you and me. My affection ain't of the mercenary sort t In fact, as I got you Into the mess (though with the best of Intentions, mind you,) It's only fair I should get you out of It." Mary had hidden her face In her hands but she become aw are, from the Increased Intensity of the all-pervndlng scentcd Boap aroma, thut Slythorpe was drawing nearer to her, and In another moment his arm was around her waist. She drew herself up proudly : ' " Sir, I am willing to believe you mean kindly, but your offer under such cir cumstances Is an insult. Be good enough to leave mo." Slythorpe would have parleyed, but with an air of an outraged queen Mary Hope rang the bell, and obedient to the summons, Mrs. Murgatroyd appeared. " Open the door for Mr. Slythorpe, If you please." " You '11 be sorry for this, you'll find, Miss Hopo," said Slythorpe; but Mary vouchsafed no answer, and the attorney retired discomfited, Mrs. Murgatroyd holding the door for him with an ex pression of thorough enjoyment. As soon as It was closed upon him, she bounced back into Mary's room, and flung open the windows. " Let's have n breath of fresh air, for goodness' sake, after that nasty, slimy, scented serpent. I always feel as If the house wanted dlsln what d'ye call it ? with Condy's Sea-salt or Tidman's Re storer, or some o' them deldolisers, when ever he's been In It. Why, my dear lamb, whatever Is the matter ?" Poor Mary's overwrought nerve had at last given way, and she fell upon the sofa in a fit of violent hysterics. Mrs. Murgatroyd, with motherly instinct, let her emotion have its way, and she was soon so calmed as to be able with many tears to tell the story of this new mis fortune, finally crying herself to sleep on the good old woman's sympathizing bo som. It was two days after the scene just recorded, and Mary Hope, with The Time before her, was answering adver tisments for a governess. Mary was not one to sit still under the pressure of ca lamity, however heavy, and having got over the first shock of her mlsfortune,at once set about bravely to earn her own livelihood. With this view she was now seeking to procure a situation, as a governess, entering upon her task with a bravo heart, though sho well knew the trials to which such a position M ould probably expose her. Sho had answered three advertisements, and had folded and sealed her letters, and now, with her open desk before her, was counting her little store of ready money, and cal culating how long she could at any rate subsist before she found employment. In replacing her purse her hand fell up on a portrait, which she took out, and gazed at fondly. " Dear old Geoffrey, If you had lived how dlffeient my future would have been ! I suppose I ought to say God's will be done, but O, it's very very hard !" A few moments she con tinued gazing through her tears at the portrait, when a sharp knock at the out er door startled her, and she replaced it in the desk. She heard Mrs. Murgatroyd in conversation with some one,and then a quick, well-remembered voice said, "Where? This room?" Ami in an other moment the door was flung open, and Mary Hope was sobbing iu her lost lover's arms. After the blissful excitement of the first meeting had subsided, a season of mutual explanations followed. Geoffrey Howard had been dangerously wounded and hud been a prisoner for the greater part of u year in an Indian dungeon, where for many weeks his life had bung on a thread by reason of an attack of ma lignant fever. Ills worn and sallow features, his skin bronzed to Oriental swarthiness, and the scar, of a deep sabre-cut across his check, scarce hidden by a rather ragged ljeard, bore eloquent wit ness to the perils he had pussed through. He had landed In England but twelve .hours previously, and had lost not a mo ment in seeking the presence of his dar ling and her father, for he was of course ignorant of Bernard Hope's death. ' Ma ry, too, had much to tell, and nestling by Geoffrey's side, her little white fin gers hidden In the rugged brown hands of her lover, which held them as though they would never aguln let them go, she told him all she had gonei through the lose .of her father, the history of the will, and lastly, the loss of her little for tune. " I don't understand it," said Geoffrey, " The man has been playing some' deep game. ' " Perhaps he really wished to get me more what do you call it? Interest for my money. I daresay it war meant kindly enough, though It has happened so unfortunately." J i . - . " I don't believe It, darling If he had really your Interest at heart, he would have regarded safety before all things, I strongly suspect that If all things had gone well you would simply have re ceived your three per cent., and Mr'. Slythorpe would have pocketed the dif ference." .' t f 41 0 Geoffrey .Geoffrey I I'm afraid you have come home very uncharitable. Be sides, what does It matter about a lot of stupid money, now I have got you back again ? unless, Indeed, you would have liked me better for having the, money." ' There! was only one possible answer to such an accusation, and Major Howard mado it that Is to say, he called Mary a little goose, kissed her, and dropped the subject, having taken care, however, to ascertain the address of ' Mr. Slythorpe and the name of the company In which Mary's money had been lost. On leav ing her, he took a hansom cab and drove to the ofilceof the liquidator of the company, when, on his stating that he desired to make some Inquiries on be half of one" of their shareholders, Mr. Slythorpe, he was Informed to his aston ishment that there was not and never had been any shareholder of that name on the books of the company. Ho next Inquired whether, perchance, the shares were standing In Miss Hope's own name, and again was answered in the negative. Utterly bewildered, he drove to Mr. Sly thorpe's office. Mr. Slythorpe was at home, and he speedily found himself In the attorney's presence. Mr. Slythorpe was a little nervous. Ho was always a little nervous with Btrangerstlll he knew their business; and Major Howard's an nouneement that he had called On be half of Miss Mary Hope did not tend to Increase his confidence. He was, how ever, far from suspecting Major How ard's Identity, but jumped to the con clusion that he was a hostile solicitor employed by Miss Hope to call him to account. Major Howard's next remark tended to confirm that impression. " You stated to Miss Hope, I think, a couple of days ago, that the property be queathed to her by her father's will had been Invested In the Wheal Marina Corn pany,which has Just come to grief. You are of course aware that an Investment, upon such a rotten security was a gross breach of trust, for which you nre lia ble." " Not at all ; the power of investment is unlimited. Indeed shares of companies are specially included." " You ore certain of that ? " " Quito so. I drew the will myself." "Very good. The shares stood, I sup jiose, in your own nume." " Ye-es ; in my name, of course as sole trustee." . ' " Then pray how Is It, Mr. Slythorpe that I don't find your name among the list of shareholders of the company?'' Mr. Slythorpe's countenance fell. "Because because I may as well make a clean breaet of it to tell you the truth.the money never was in that com pany at all. It was a false alarm, Sir, a false alarm." " Then where on earth is the money, sir ? And what do you mean by a false alarm ?" " I'll tell you, If you'll have a littlepa tience. As a brother solicitor, I'm sure you won't press harder on me than you are quite obliged. Miss Hope's money is in the Wheal Mary Ann, one of the most flourishing companies going, and her shares are worth Just double what I gave for them." ! " Then what on earth induced you" " I'll tell you between Ourselves, I've taken an uncommon fancy to Miss Hope and I had made up my mind to make her Mrs. 8. ; but somehow she didn't take to me quite as kindly as I could have wished. Now the other morning w hen I took up The Times, almoet the first thing I caught sight of was the smash of the Wheal Marina, and the similarity of name gave me quite a turn , for Just at the first moment I thought it was the Wheal Mary Ann. And then the thought struck me, " If it only had been, my lady, you'd have been glad enough to say " Yes" to Samuel Sly thorpe." And then I thought I'd try it. It was merely a little innocent practical joke a roose cTamour, Sir: a mererooae d'amour." Aud Mr. Slythorpe smiled. " You atrocious scoundrel I" There was a sudden blow, a heavy crash, and Mr. Samuel Slythorpe meas ured his length on the floor. The clerk outside, hearing the downfall, 'popped his head Into the room, but seeing the state of things discreetly retired again, remarking: " Beg pardon ; thought you rang, Sir." 'Meanwhile Major Howard, having knocked Slythorpe down, proceeded to set him up again ; and with his own dutidy cane, which stood by the side of the fireplace gave him one of the most tremendous thrashings ever recorded in the pages of history. And the clerk In the outer office, who owed Slythorpe many a grudge for acts of petty tyranny, listened at the dooif smiling pleusantly at each " swish" of the descending cane, and finally indulging in a war dance ex- presrttva'of triumph and exultation round, me omco-stooi. t. . ' v i A fortfhhrht liter. Malorllo ward. look. Ing wonderfully better tit . hearth and sreiigiu, two nerore the alter of a quiet city ohurch with u graceful little figure his side. And with no pomp 6t oeremohi, no breakfast, 4io speeches, no weaning guests, with only good Mrs. Muriratrovd for bridesmaid, ill A turn frna lovern tvere made one, And Mt run tit lis afterwards, in . the Court of Queen's Jtencn, the great assault case of Sly thorpe Vs. Howard was trlml. Atwl when the lawyers on both sides had hod ii. .i .. . . . . uieir say, ine presiding Judge said, "Gentlemen of the Jury, It Is, not klis--' puieu mat a very violent assault was committed on the 'nlalntlif. ami ha u therefore entitled to your verdict, But m assessing tne damages, gentleman, you" will consider the federal' merit nf the case, and give the plain tiff only such compensation as you think he fairly de serves." And the Jury,, in awarding one lariuing ny way or damages, ex pressed their unanimous recrret that there wasn't a smaller coin. VEGETINE Purifies the Mood, Renovates and Invigorates the Whole System. ITS MEDICAL i'llOPERTlEH AUK Alterative, Tonic, Solvent AND DIURETIC. 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